[memory] Eyes to See (Doran)

[Linika]

Right at the moment that Linika was supressing a chuckle at the man's response to being 'warned and threatened', he asked about Red Tide, and made the conversation serious in her eyes again. She was here in Viden under the false pretense of being an exile and traitor, a murderer of her compatriots. As such, she should have no real reason to withhold information on a uniquely naerikk toxin and reagent.

It went against everything she believed in to give up even such a relatively minor boon as this. The belief that Naer were superior; that Audrae was destined to rule, mortal and Immortal alike; that the lesser races and genders were meant to be expendable in preference to the chosen people of fate; that there was no imorality in this view. It felt wrong to aid this human, this male, in embracing anything of Augiery's influence. The only influence he should be familiar with is what it will be like to impart unquestioning obedience to her sisterhood.

It grated on her sensibilities to depart from this dogma for his benefit. But in the furtherance of her mission, it was a necessary breach of protocol. She knew she'd hesitated longer than a completely neutral person would, so she looked down, and let a melancholy expression cross her face. "I guess...there's no real reason for me to act like I have some loyalty to act upon anymore. I'm unwelcome among my own now, so why not?"

She looked back briefly at the alley where the fat man still lay in the dirt, wondering what she ought to do about him. She sighed with the realization that it was something that was probably going to come back on her in some way. She looked back to her current companion, "There's a fish in the waters off the southern continent. We call it the 'Shark Scout', because that is the role it truly takes. It has the Red Tide toxin in its fins, inside the spines there, the bones. It swims up and jabs its target, the toxin swiftly thinning the blood to a great degree. This makes the target weak and prevents the usual clotting to seal the wound. This extended bleeding draws sharks that make short work of the target, leaving bits of flesh strewn around in the water that the scout eats. The two animals make quite a team, and they do not ever turn on each other. They know their role, and uniformly profit from it."

She shrugged, "So we gather these fish when we can and milk the toxin from them. It really takes very little processing and can be used in conjunction with other toxins, when the thinning of the blood is a necessary concern for effectiveness." She paused, in a way suggesting she hoped for some reciprocal bit of valuable information. "I really don't know why I continue to give you the benefits of my experience when you have nothing to offer in return." She said, somewhat sourly, when his initial reply indicated no immediate value was forthcoming.

But his follow-up was intriguing. Creating a scandal of one's own was nothing new to a naer. It was part and parcel of the entire Augierian approach to diplomacy. She had not considered such a thing here, because, as one of those very naer, she knew no indictment she raised against a citizen of this city would be heeded. But with this human, if she could remain an unseen participant...

Her eyes narrowed shrewdly at Doran. Certainly she had noted his 'alteration'. It was what had directed her suspicions of him toward an alignment with Syroa. She began speaking her thoughts aloud, not in a volume that would be heard outside of their company, but enough to invite his input. "Imitating some high-ranking official would be easy enough...and letting yourself be seen committing some crime as well..."

She paced around, a frustrated look growing on her features, "...but it won't work...he'll already be identified, and in trouble...nothing to be gained with any threat of exposure...He'd just be jailed, and that would be that." a moment of bitter irony struck her, thinking of her own situation "...or exiled."

But that thought persisted, her reminiscence of her lost sisterhood "...sisterhood...family...hmmmmmmm" she stopped pacing, her expression piercing the space between herself and Doran. "Maybe it doesn't have to be the mimicked guy we blackmail...If there's someone who cares about him...or at least depends on him somehow...or has something to lose if he goes down...a business associate! That's who we go after. What are they going to do? Go to the original target and ask them if they really did it?"

Whether Doran showed any interest in this notion or not, she was already looking back at the man in the alley, a vengeful smile on her face.

[Doran]

So the toxin supposedly came from a fish, some sort of shark. He looked at Linika as she spoke and wondered if she was being truthful and then decided to give her the benefit of the doubt, for now. It would be hard to make up all those little details and lie convincingly to a man who was educated in chemistry and medicine, besides she had little reason not to tell him the truth. As she had said, she was unwelcome among her own.

Red Tide definitely sounded useful, more so than a number of other substances that he had worked with so far as it apparently needed little processing. He wondered how hard it would be to acquire the toxin and whethere there would be anybody in Viden or in Andaris that sold it or would be able to import some for him, apart from the woman that now stood in front of him. He knew better than to travel to the southern continent and milk the fish himself, having little experience in such things.

She showed more of the same behaviour. She was frustrated and impatient and generally had a hard time controlling her emotions. They were clearly visible on her face, a fact that he disapproved of somewhat, in spite of the Immortal that he now followed. In some ways she almost reminded him of a child, a dangerous, bad tempered child. She also seemed to be shrewd and calculating though, and she clearly approved of his plan.

“Exactly”, he remarked and nodded. “It won’t work if the deed is publicly seen. He won’t be much of a target for blackmail, but go straight to prison, and we’ll have to look for somebody new. Perhaps your acquaintance here …” He gestured towards the drunkard who would hopefully remain unconscious a while longer. “… will be able to help us. Perhaps you weren’t alone when you met him. Perhaps the aforementioned official was with you and completely enamored with you, and the drunkard got in the way, made a pass at you and just wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

“Perhaps our official eventually lost his temper and decided to take care of the drunkard and not just because he had disturbed a quiet evening with his beloved. The political consequences of a man like him being in a relationship with a Naerikk could be disastrous. In fact his career might be ruined if that relationship became public knowledge. Unfortunately”, he continued. “He didn’t realize that there was somebody besides the drunkard nearby, a business associate of his.”

“All we have to do now”, he concluded. “Is to arrange for our witness to watch the deed.”

[Linika]

Linika had, as a preliminary necessity to her mission, already staked out numerous city officials for the purpose of recording their timetables, habits, residences, associates and what not. What self-respecting infiltrator would not lay such groundwork? She looked around, her mind flying down streets beyond the limitations of her sight, as she considered several options.

She spoke as much to herself as her companion, "Clergy would of course be the most scandalous, but with the multi-denominational worship at the temple, you can never be sure who you'll get coming out. And it's too far south anyway. We'd be breaks walking there. No...right here...hmmm...my own unit is right down there on our left, in the Unskilled...what...Tsavorite? prism?" She made a face at the insulting suggestion that she was unskilled.

"...students right behind that in the Carnelian..." she went on absently. "Aristocrats right in front of us in Obsidian...along with....hmmm...yes...'Sweet Luxuries', the whor-...excuse me, 'brothel" She made a disdainful flourish to mock the grand term for the one and only location in Viden in which anyone had told her she was suited to find employment; several actually. Now a smile began to form, "Yes...perhaps I will be temporarily employed there after all."

Her eyes lit brightly as things began to fall into place. "Of course! No one will question the likelihood of a naer being a whore here. And we're assuming no one is going to ask questions anyway! Right there at the Commercial Exchange..." She pointed to an assumed building located around the large Obsidian Prism. "The Merchant Guild is perfect. Enough standing to be blackmailed, yet not so high-up as to be above walking home after work. And they'll come right by here. We watch for...who is it?"

She scowled, wishing now that she'd put as much emphasis on learning details of the Merchant Guild as she had the Military, Academics and politicals. But the name finally came to her, "Kriena Lennican, I think...Eidisi bitch...I know I've seen her bossing several others right on the steps outside the Center. But I know her boss will occasionally stop at the 'Sweet Luxuries'. Guild Administrator, I think. Very stately and dignified, graying blue-haired gent, a bit of a limp. Verlik...umm...Farhlenis! Yes, that's it. If you can recall him, by that name or not, or just even make a basic tall, skinny, blue-gray haired middle-aged eidisi, it will probably be good enough. They will be our collective target!"

She looked back at the fat man in the alley behind them, "I'll just keep him dizzy until Miss Lennican shows up; which actually shouldn't be long, if she doesn't decide to work late. She's a real shark, so I doubt anyone will be with her. Then I'll prop up big boy here and you do whatever you do to copy Lord Farhlenis, and we'll put on a show for his secretary!" The grin was as fierce as it was eager.

[Doran]

The son of Ziell listened calmly as Linika considered a number of possibilities. As she spoke of “Sweet Luxuries”, he couldn’t help but be slightly amused. “I don’t have a problem with you calling it what it is – a whore-house”, he informed her in a somewhat dry tone of voice. Who would have thought that a poisoner would hesitate to utter such words?

“I agree though, nobody will question the likelihood of a Naerikk working here”, he continued. He’d toyed with with other scenarios, such as their victim being madly in love with one, but this, he decided, would be less complicated – although men had fallen for Linika’s kind before.

He wasn’t as familiar with the various members of the Merchant Guild as she was – he had always been more focused on academic pursuits – but he did know who the Guild Administrator was.

“Farhlenis, exactly”, he confirmed. “I’ve seen him before.” He had never tried to change into an Eidisi, but he was confident that he would be able to do quite an acceptable job at it. The difficulty would be imitating the Guild Administrator’s voice, but if everything went according to plan, it was unlikely that he would have to say much.

Unless there was something else that needed to be discussed, he would take a step away from her, make sure that they weren't being watched and begin the transformation. He had no problem letting her watch if she wanted to. In fact, he almost dared her to look and see for herself what kind of power Syroa had given to him. Her gift finally allowed him to move past the limitations of his mother’s weak human blood.

Before too long, a tall Eidisi stood where a seemingly human man had been a moment earlier. The copy wasn’t absolutely perfect – for that he would have had to study Lord Farhlenis beforehand – but unless Kriena decided to approach and take a close look, it would be more than sufficient.

The game had begun. Now all they needed was for Lord Farhlenis’ secretary to show up.

[Linika]

There was still a good deal of emotional manipulation to inflict upon the poor, fat victim-to-be. Just the right balance of teasing and refusing and re-encouraging and implied surrender, only to pull away and start the process all over again. More than once, Linika thought the fellow would burst in anger and turn away for good. But she'd let his hand find a gem now and then; and that was ample reward to keep him on the hook.

Mostly though, her focus was on the sign her partner would flash once the secretary made her appearance. It seemed the woman was working inconveniently late, though Linika had no doubts that her would-be lover-boy would prefer it if she worked all night. There was getting to be less and less of Linika's anatomy that was going to be left to the fat fool's imagination at this rate.

Finally though, the signal made, Linika pulled away, now adding distress to the tone of her refusal. "No...no...I'm sorry, I just can't. I don't have time to go as far as you deserve to have of me." She staggered, as if torn by regret, out of the mouth of the alley. The rube pursued in righteous, lust-driven anger, spouting profanity-filled accusations that if she'd got down to business right away there'd have been more than enough time.

Linika had to acknowledge the legitimacy of his point, but it changed nothing. Her peripheral vision caught the approach of a warmly but conservatively dressed business woman. She turned back to her victim one last time, egging him out a bit further with the seeming unawareness of an "accidental" loss of another button.

Now she could see another figure to her other side, whom she assumed to be Doran in 'Farhlenis-form'. It was time for the final surrender. Her overheated patsy fell slobbering upon her; his hands finding their ways into gaps that had not even been unsnapped or unbuttoned. The shadow of Farhlenis moved into position to be seen from the street, and Linika gasped loudly.

The portly rube protested with renewed vigor, claiming he'd seen her first, and telling the well-dressed eidisi gentleman to bugger off. Linika tore free of his groping mitts with a cry, "No Verlik! My Love! He attacked me!" She could not greatly distinguish the victim's words, beyond the emphasis of 'slut' and 'bitch'; her focus was on the gasping halt of the woman across the street; the hands covering her mouth in classic shock.

"No! Please, don't listen to him. I tried to get him to leave, but he said that because I was a naer, I was a whore, and had no say. He wouldn't leave me alone! You know I only love you!" There it was, just ensure the scandal; the dropping of the "n-word"; all said with enough volume to be heard across the street, but with no tone indicating the realization that anyone was there.

[Doran]

He had to admit, the Naerikk’s acting skills were admirable. They were at least as good as his own. If he were a stranger, a mortal, he thought, he would likely be fooled by the way she manipulated the drunkard and tempted him. He still had his doubts about her personality, but in this regard, he decided, she was perfect. She almost seemed like a Blessed of Syroa to him now in the way she awakened the drunkard’s lust and toyed to him. It was quite fascinating.

While she was busy with their future victim, he remained where he was, out of the drunkard’s sight, lest his presence affected him in some way. He didn’t want the man to see him until Farhlenis’ secretary had arrived on the scene, although, he realized, his capability for logical thought would likely be diminished in his current state. Truth to be told, he was surprised that he had regained consciousness so quickly!

Since Kriena Lennican seemed to be taking her time – he hoped that she had not unexpectedly changed her plans for the evening – he took a few moments to examine himself. The Eidisi whose form he had taken was a little taller than he was, and thus his clothes were tighter than they had been, but not uncomfortably so, and moving this body felt different.

Perhaps, he thought, he should be uncomfortable since he was currently wearing a face that was not his own – most people would be, he realized - but he could not bring himself to give in to such petty sentiments. He was more concerned with how he could improve this ability and use it to his best advantage. But that, he decided, was a matter that was best considered further at a late date. It was time to take their plan to the next step.

Kriena had just arrived on the scene, and he moved into position. The drunkard seemed to be renewing his efforts. His hands were practically everywhere on Linika’s body now. There was something about it that infuriated him, almost beyond measure, even though Linika was not his woman.

He pretended to laugh as the drunkard told him to bugger off, as if he were not particularly impressed. “Whore or not, she’s mine, and if you dare to lay hands on her again …” he warned him quietly. Of course the man didn’t listen, but tried to come after Linika. He just wouldn’t accept no for an answer, and thus Doran stepped in his way, as if he were brimming with jealously and rage. The drunkard spouted more nonsense and continued to insist that Linika belonged to him. He let him rant and rave for a few moments, mostly for Kriena’s sake, so that she would get a good show, and then Farhlenis’ secretary could see the flash of steel as Doran drove a blade right into his victim’s chest.

The drunkard’s eyes widened for a moment – he didn’t quite realize what had just happened and why – and then he fell, and Doran let out a sigh. The mortal had started to get on his nerves. His death wouldn’t be a great loss. People like him served no purpose. The most important part of their game was over. Now they just needed Kriena to run away in shock and leave before somebody else could see them – and hope that the deed would have the intended effect.

[Linika]

There was a good deal of blood drenching the victim's shirt initially. You'd be able to see it inside the partially open jacket with no effort. But even as the man's last convulsion went limp, and his eyes half closed and turned to blank stares, the bleeding stopped. Linika turned her head just enough to see Miss Lennican hurry away, demonstrating the presence of mind to slow immediately to an innocent walking pace as she turned the corner.

Linika grinned at the conniving logic of their ultimate target. This was clearly a woman who had previous experiences with ugly incidents. The naer only stayed long enough to confirm these details and then likewise fled to meet up with Doran at a prearranged tavern location several blocks away. She too, was only at a sight-seeing pace when she found him, once again returned to his normal appearance.

"If this works right, there won't be any big to-do about the murder of a pig like him. But it will still be known. Now I seriously doubt our Miss Lennican is going to come forward with any details to identify anyone, so my racial heritage should not be anything to worry about. No one will know who did it. He didn't actually hire my time from a brothel. He just started following me when I walked by the bar he was coming out of. So there isn't even some Madam to incriminate me."

Now her eyes narrowed as the need for strategizing came into play. "The thing is we are playing the part of a random witness; not one of the actual players. As such, it would not be likely that we would approach her for hush-money. Her boss is the one that "Did it", and as some random witness, it is he that we would send a blackmail note to. But of course, since he didn't really do it, that won't work either."

She sat back, her eyes staring off into memories of stories she'd heard of other such plots, stories shared amid grim laughter with her sisterhood. "No, it needs to appear to be sent to him, but there needs to be cause for her to intercept it. And she may not yet be assuming any blackmail is forthcoming. There needs to be some oddity that will make her take notice..."

They sat there a moment considering options, when a woman waltzed in, the smell of her perfume immediately dominating the room. Linika and her companion immediately locked eyes, their steadily growing grins mirroring each other.

______________________________________________________________

Three trials later, Miss Lennican was at her desk, still trying to shake off the effects of what she'd seen. It was not that she was of such sensitivity that the memory of the crime itself had her on edge. It was the fact that every time Lord Farhlenis spoke with her, whether business or casual, she had to struggle to act as if there was no secret between them.

She found it remarkable how completely free of guilt he acted, assuming that such skill would manifest itself naturally by the time a man reached the top of his political sphere. But she was worried that she would crack under the strain of having to be his equal to the task.

She was sorting through the recent post arrivals, dividing them into Necessities, Possibilities and Trash, when one small envelope caught her attention. It was not anything visually unusual; simply a letter, though the small lipstick print sent a cold chill up her spine; as did the use of Lord Farhlenis' first name. But it was also the faint smell of perfume wafting up from the envelope.

The secretary held the letter as if it would bite, her face paling. To her experience, it had all the earmarks of a distraught lover, realizing the sad necessity of having to leave to save him from the scandal of a murder she'd inadvertently brought down on him. Miss Lennican's imagination built an entire romance around this letter. She ached to throw it away, but decided there may be some yet unknown detail that she might need to tend to, to ensure no scandal arose from the other night's incident. it was not just her job that would crumble along with Lord Farhlenis' reputation. The entire guild might collapse.

She looked around conspiratorially. When the opportunity was right, she slipped her opener into it and unfolded it. As she read, the pale tone of fear was replaced by the red shade of anger.

"Good Job, Miss Lennican!

You serve your master well. The master who we saw murder a man in an alley just off Tsavorite Prism.
And all for the sake of his naerikk concubine. One is given to wondering which is the more alarming detail.
Oh, that would be Lord Verlik Farhlenis, in case you've been struggling to forget.
You see, we noted your presence there as well, and since then, we have also noted a disappointing failure on your part to report this very pertinent information to the guard.
Why it's almost as if you don't want this grim truth about your boss to become public.

Perish the thought!

Well, I can assure you we are willing to aid you in this pursuit.
But being men of high principles, we need something to offset the blow to our integrity.
I mean, we want to help the poor indecisive secretary, struggling to maintain the Guild's sacred reputation, of course. But the direct violation of the law inherent in keeping such a secret does not sit well with us.
I think, however, that a calming stipend of therapy money would do the trick.
Now of course, some crippling amount would very likely bring about the very scandal we hope to avoid, so we'll keep it modest; something a woman of your bookkeeping skills should be able to conceal.
Let's say 2000 gold nel per season.

Ha Ha, just kidding, no just a single thousand should be sufficient.

And in case you think we are still being greedy, consider that this is being divided among us, so it's actually less than you make at your job. In fact, you could probably create a phantom employee to cover this. There's an idea!
We will look for you every seasonal payday, to drop an envelope in the alley.
I trust I do not need to tell you which alley I mean.

Now, back to work with you.[/style3]
In a tavern not far from that same alley, Linika shared a drink with Doran, her face unable to hide a malicious smile,

"And, once she starts doctoring the books, we have a new, more dependable source of blackmail. It's just a matter of deciding how long we wait for her ledgers to be worth stealing."

She raised her glass, "To Free Enterprise!"

[Djinn]

Linika Amaranthine

Story 5/5
Structure 5/5
Collaboration 5/5

• Seduction: A lustful glance is draw enough
• Seduction: Enticing an unsuspecting victim
• Doran: Syroan devout
• Deception: Playing coy
• Intimidation: Using natural gifts to intimidate
• Sesser: Observing a transformation
• Deception: Answering questions with questions
• Teaching: Accidentally giving too much detail in a description
• Doran: A chemist
• Tactics: Plotting to frame an official
• Tactics: Considering alternative methods to solve a problem
• Tactics: Using natural circumstances to solve a problem
• Deception: Laying the groundwork for a master scheme
• Deception: Tricking a woman into thinking her boss is a murderer
• Seduction: Reinforcing infatuation
• Acting: Playing the damsel in distress
• Acting: Changing pitch to emulate panic
• Deception: Scheming to blackmail

Doran Thetys

Story 5/5
Structure 5/5
Collaboration 5/5

• Stealth: Hiding in doorways to obscure one's form
• Sesser: Becoming another to avoid familiarity
• Linika: True daughter of Audrae
• Psychology: Withholding information to create mystique
• Psychology: Resisting intimidation by distancing oneself
• Naerikk: Observing their gifts
• Linika: Exiled from Augiery
• Poison: The Naerikk 'Red Tide' toxin
• Poison: Tea-Bower/Red Tide mixture as a plague vessel
• Poison: Red Tide toxin from a southern fish
• Tactics: Plotting to ruin an official
• Tactics: Using a bad situation to your advantage
• Sesser: Portraying an Eidisi means getting taller

Notes: This thread was really great, you two! I love the divide between Linika and Doran, and how analytical each is towards the other. Everything was great, and the pace was exactly as it should have been. My only complaint is that it seemed a little abrupt at the end. Perhaps next time, a capping post? Anyway, great job.

As a side note: Doran, with the Poison knowledges... I know you asked for Alchemy, but the ingredients Linika spoke of were ingredients for a poison. If this is an issue, please PM me and we'll hash it out.